Call me Kitami-sensei
by CreationsGoneAwry
Summary: AU in which Yukina is more socially awkward and Shigure is more serious and controlling. Story starts out with Yukina being 9, Shigure 13. Eventual ShigurexYukina, with side pairings. T for now.


**A/N: **Hey everyone! This will be my first WNxxS story :) I read the manga before summer started, was really interested in it, scribbled down a few ideas (for a different story than this), but when it stopped getting updated I started losing interest. But I've been rereading it since last week and realized I still really love it.

So here's an AU version of our favorite couple, Shigure and Yukina. I love student-teacher relationships, so I thought I'd take a crack at one. Yukina's more awkward and has a tragic past (kinda? hah) and Shigure's more...well, you'll find out. A lot of the characters from the series, all three of them that are left, really, will be making appearances. Not sure if I'll incorporate Yukina/Yupina's novel into it, though. I probably will.

Anyway, hope you guys like it! More chapters to come in the future :) And yes, there will be timeskips, so Yukina won't be an awkward 9-year-old kid forever.

* * *

**Call me Kitami-sensei**

"She should fix that gaze of hers."

_No, no, no, stop thinking about it! _she told herself forcefully, rattling her head back and forth, her hands on either side of it. _Sensei is just looking out for me. He isn't trying to be mean! He isn't trying to be mean at all! Besides, I have these nice new glasses now. Sensei can't make fun of my look anymore._

Yukina tried to calm herself down, shaking her head back and forth in attempts to dismiss all the thoughts from her mind as she walked down the road. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going, though, and soon enough she found herself lost in unfamiliar territory.

The nine-year-old sank to the ground and began weeping, not understanding at all why her mom wasn't here for her. Of course, she understood why, but she didn't understand _why. _Her mother told her she had to go out and pick up her father from his job because they only had the one car, so Yukina would have to be a big girl and find her way home herself, without the help of anybody.

_It's so scary… _she thought. She sat in her own quiet weeping sound for a few moments, and then realized she was here of her own will. After she left the school building, she let her feet take herself to this very spot, this…very unfamiliar part of town with houses everywhere and this one huge telephone pole that she was scared would fall on top of her at any second now. It was her own fault she was here.

She raised her head up just a little bit more to see if there was anything at all that looked familiar to her. In the process, her new glasses slipped off her nose, still a size too big because her mother figured she'd grow into them, and onto the cold, unforgiving ground in front of her. They shattered into tens of glass shards and the frame broke into two easily distinguishable pieces, sprawled out in front of her for the world to see.

"My gl…my glasses!"

Yukina bawled uncontrollably now, sinking to the ground beneath her, trying to cradle her broken lenses into her arms as if there was something she could do. _Mom will be so mad! I just got these last year, and Sensei will see my look again and say mean things about me again!_

"Wah! God, please fix my glasses! I can't have broken glasses or else bad things will happen!" she pleaded. She tried to piece the shards of glass back together with her nimble fingers, but she ended up cutting herself in the process. Fresh drops of blood stained the ground below her, some even getting onto her clothes, but she was too preoccupied with attempting to fix what was broken to notice.

She was going to get in so much trouble! She could see now the face of her mother, angry and still undecipherable, and she would never get another pair of glasses again, because her mother would think she was so irresponsible, and then none of the kids at the kindergarten would like her anymore, and even Sensei would end up hating her because of her gaze. Kids said she had a glare, and she didn't want them to think that at all! She wanted to be friends with everybody, especially Sensei!

"What's the matter?"

All of Yukina's thoughts stopped right then and there, and she looked behind her to stare at someone she never thought she would meet at such an odd place. The person had very dark hair – it looked black, to be exact – and was wearing a school uniform. It looked like it was from the middle school right around the block from her elementary school, but she couldn't be too sure. Regardless, though, that look in his eyes… his smile… they all reminded her of someone she knew she'd met before. Was this…?

"Did you drop your glasses?" He quickly knelt down beside the confused and sad Yukina. "Oh…you broke them, too." Then he saw her fingers. "Oh, you're bleeding!" He took her tiny hand in his larger one, running his own fingers over her wounds, stupidly trying to figure out if it was hurting her; of course it did, and Yukina cried out weakly, most of her energy already gone from being confused about this new person and tired from all her crying earlier.

"Sorry," he said pathetically. He kept smiling, though, as if there was something to be happy about. He released her hand and took both of his to pick up the broken shards of glass and the frame. He was a bit more careful because he was older than Yukina and knew better, but that didn't stop him from letting loose an "Ouch!" when a small shard he didn't know was there pricked his finger. It didn't bleed as much as her wound did, so he didn't worry about it too much.

Meanwhile, Yukina just stared at the boy, wondering if her thoughts about who he was were correct. His black hair, and even his uniform, she knew she'd seen this boy somewhere before! But when would she ever have – that's it!

"Sh…Shi-chan?"

"Ah!" He dropped the frame of the glasses back onto the ground, his smile dropping to be replaced by a look of astonishment. A blush crept across his face but he tried to hide it, turning to the side. He'd really hoped she didn't remember him…let alone that nickname. It was easily the most disturbing and disgusting thing he had been called in his entire life. He gritted his teeth in anger and embarrassment.

"Shi-chan? Is it really you?"

He turned back to Yukina, still trying to hide the blush, this time with the return of his signature smile. "My name is actually Kitami."

"Kitami?"

"Kitami Shigure," he replied, still smiling.

Yukina's eyes lit up. Did that mean he was giving her permission to call him by his first name…? She'd never gotten the chance to call Sensei by his name! And all the other kids, they were always so afraid of her because of her stare that they never even bothered to tell her their names except for on introduction day. This was great!

"Shigu…re." It felt so great rolling off of her tongue that she almost forgot her honorifics. "…San." How embarrassing that would've been, acting so familiar with someone she just barely met before seeing him again after two years.

Shigure's face had calmed down a bit after introducing himself, but when she called out his name so casually, the color instantly returned, not used to being called anything but Kitami-kun (and Shi-chan by that one teacher…). And she'd even left off the honorific! This girl was just asking for trouble… This wasn't good, he quickly realized. She'd already made him lose his usual composure and she was what, nine? He didn't think he even had to pretend in front of kids, because they're usually so easy to deal with anyway. But this girl… How did she manage to break through him so easily? Not even teachers could do that!

He sighed, forcing himself to calm down. It wouldn't do if he lost control again. "C-come on, we can go to my family's hospital and get your cut looked at." He stuffed the broken frame and glass shards into his pocket and ran a hand through his hair. "Can you see?"

Yukina just stared back up at him, not really knowing how to answer. She could clearly see him and his face, but things like his uniform were a little blurry. "Um – "

She was cut off when his right hand grabbed her left, encasing it tightly because it was after school hours and it would start getting cold soon. She tried to peek at his face but he stared the other way, unbeknownst to her hiding his rose-tinted cheeks.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Shigure knew it was rude not to look at someone when he was talking to them, but he didn't want the girl to see his face. She'd probably think something was wrong with him and then he'd get even more embarrassed and probably do something stupid like run away. He couldn't just leave a helpless girl all by herself, alone and scared and probably cold.

Again, Yukina didn't know how to respond. After somebody gave his first name to her, was she supposed to say her first name too? Or just the last name? She wasn't entirely sure.

"Hi…Himuro," she replied. She put the hand that Shigure wasn't holding up to her mouth, wanting to bite her fingers, one of her bad habits, but restrained herself because she figured it would be weird if he looked over and saw her doing that.

"Himuro? Himuro what?" he asked. He started walking, her in tow just a little behind him but beside him because he had a hold on her hand.

"Himuro…Yukina." She took her hand away from her face and looked over in Shigure's direction, trying to catch his eye and see what he was thinking. She really loved observing people.

Shigure glanced over as well after she told him her name, catching a glimpse of her face. His instincts jolted him back a little bit, caught off guard from seeing her expression. He guessed he hadn't realized it until now. She had this sort of menacing look about her, and now he understood her given name a bit better. Then he realized that the reason she was so shy was probably because of that look. Kids at school didn't want to play with her because she always looked like she was angry at something or someone. He did remember when he came into her classroom one time and she seemed to be all alone. He remembered pitying her. She was just like how he used to be.

He smiled wider at her. "Yukina-chan, then?" He resumed walking, bringing her along with him.

Yukina blushed and nodded, liking the sound of it. Even though he was only four years older than her – that she could remember, anyway – his voice sounded so smooth and full of confidence. It was very deep and reassuring, like her father's. She thought she might have been able to fall asleep to it had the opportunity presented itself.

…

"_Sensei, what's going on? What's going on?" a cheerful fourth-year elementary student asked the teacher, eagerness written all over his face. He kept glancing towards the door, wondering just when Sensei would open it up and let whoever was outside in._

_The teacher chuckled. "Hold on, Akira-chan. My, my, you're so eager!" He gently pushed back the seven-year-old, making his own way to the door. He swung it open to reveal Kitami Shigure. _

"_Ah! Shi-chan!" He opened the door wider and almost hugged the student, but quickly remembered that wasn't appropriate behavior for a teacher and just stared at his former student. "What are you now, fifth-year elementary student?"_

_Shigure tried his best to not grimace at his old teacher's nickname for him, instead nodding, smiling politely, and trying to quickly hand over the papers he was asked to bring. "Hello, Kirishima-sensei." _

"_Shi-chan, you're always so polite! No wonder you're my favorite student!"_

_Several disgruntled noises of protest, along with a lot of "Sensei!" whines from all the students, made Kirishima somewhat uncomfortable, and he realized his mistake._

"_All right, calm down, kids. You're all my favorites!" he quickly fixed. _

_Shigure stared down at all the kids younger than himself, but out of the corner of his eye he could see one lonely girl in the back of the room. She was holding a stuffed dinosaur, sitting away from all the other kids, and staring straight at Shigure. Her eyes, though they looked mean, held sadness and jealousy in them, he could tell, and for a split second his face smile transformed into a frown._

…

"There, you're all set, sweetie!"

Yukina sniveled, bringing her finger up to her face so she could examine it more closely. That peroxide stuff or whatever they called it really hurt… She glanced over towards her new friend, Shigure, who stayed with her the entire time, for reassurance that she was really all right. He smiled his smile at her, which caused her to smile as well.

Shigure's face went red once more and he turned his head to the side. So even she could make a face like that? It would be so easy for somebody to mistake her for an average nine-year-old girl, yet Shigure knew she was anything but. There was something in her past that caused her to be that socially awkward. No ordinary girl is shy just because; they're cheerful and outgoing and noisy! He remembered his younger friend Mami was like that. She wasn't ever shy or introverted – she was as extroverted as extroverted could be!

"Do you live close by?"

Yukina looked up at the nurse's question, again thinking of how she should respond. Should she say yes or no? She wasn't entirely sure what "close by" was, especially since she didn't know where her house was from there.

"Um…"

"Kitami-kun, could you take her home, please? You're a little bit older than her so it should be no problem for you, right?"

Shigure titled his head sideways and smiled, eyes closed. "Sure, no problem." He glanced down at Yukina, who looked up at him with her big, bright eyes and that stare that came with them. There was no doubt in his mind that this was that same girl he saw those two years ago. "Yukina-chan, shall we go?" He held out his hand for the younger girl, expecting her to take it happily.

Yukina reluctantly took his hand and hopped off of the hospital bed, unsure of what else she could do at that point. She didn't know how money worked or anything, besides the occasional vending machine drink, but she hoped it wouldn't cost her parents too much money.

Without much in their way, the two exited the building, hand in hand, and Shigure decided it was time to ask.

"So, you don't know where your house is?"

Yukina wanted to cry – she didn't know where anything was despite her mother having told her dozens of times what landmarks to look for on her way back – but Shigure's comforting voice and smile made her a little more calm than what she imagined herself to be. She shyly shook her head, staring down at the bandage on her finger. Her glasses were still broken, too, she remembered. She wondered what she would tell her parents…

His grip on her hand tightened as he brought her along with him to the crosswalk. "Well, let's just start walking and maybe after a little while you'll remember something. Okay?"

She slowly nodded in response, still hoping her parents wouldn't be too upset about her glasses. She knew they didn't have much money.

…

Shigure itched to ask the girl questions about her relationship with her teacher, especially so he could compare hers to other kids' and his. He was really curious to find out if that teacher did something to her, just like he thought he did to him. But he repressed the urge, since not only would that destroy his image in her eyes, but it would also come off as creepy. He didn't want to seem like a creepy thirteen-year-old kid.

He was getting rather tired of walking, though. The two had walked at least halfway around town, taking about an hour and a half. He was used to walking a lot because of student council duties – he was always walking everywhere around school – but it was somehow more tiring walking through town. He'd only been through town a handful of times himself, anyway, so maybe it was a little bit of unfamiliarity creeping up on him and causing his fatigue. He pushed it away, though, intent on seeing this girl home. Where were her parents, anyway? Did they just leave her at the school and expect her to find her way home? True, a nine-year-old schoolkid should have been able to find her own way home by now, but it was evident that she wasn't a normal schoolkid and required more attention.

"Does any of this look familiar?" he asked her for the umpteenth time. He pondered if a different question would have made it less intimidating, but then guessed that it wouldn't matter since it wouldn't get him the answers he needed regardless.

Yukina sniffled, getting upset both at herself and her parents now for not showing her the proper way home. She pushed away the thoughts that told her it was her own fault for not paying more attention and instead focused her anger toward the people who always take her home but for some reason didn't today.

"N…not real – oh!" she exclaimed, running over to a rundown playground field. She dragged Shigure with her, excited that she might have actually found something that was around her house. She might be able to make it home after all!

"This is where Mama always takes me to play. I have a lot of fun on that tree swing!" She pointed to a tire swing hanging off a thick tree branch, about two feet off of the sandy ground. It was the only "attraction" there, the other attempts being a two-wooden-plank seesaw held up by a car jack and a cave-shaped dome on the other side of the playground. It seemed like it had seen its fair share of wear and tear, as some of the walls were even cracked and chipped.

Next thing he knew, Shigure was being dragged by the girl again, this time into the beat-up dome. He should have held his own in protesting, but something inside him told him not to do it. He couldn't bring himself to say no to this girl.

He felt himself pitying her even more once they made their way inside the pathetic attempt of a hideout. This playground was all she'd ever known for fun…? That just couldn't be right.

"This is where I go when all the neighborhood kids come here," Yukina explained, shyly bringing her knees up to her chin and resting it on them. "It's on the other side of the playground so nobody comes over here, and it's all beat up too so they don't like it."

Shigure didn't know why, but he felt his heart strings being tugged. Hard. He'd met many people in his life already, many of whom had their own tragic backstories, but none were as young as this girl he was with right now. She was only nine years old, barely old enough to be in her sixth year of elementary school, and yet he could tell that she knew pain and hurt like the back of her hand, and she didn't know any different.

He wanted to hug her, but he didn't, for the same reason he couldn't ask those questions earlier.

…

The two hadn't spoken much after they escaped from the cave-shaped dome of doom. Shigure eventually found Yukina's home and dropped her off when he made sure there was somebody home. He acted polite with her mother despite his lingering thoughts of what she could have possibly thought to be more important than seeing her daughter safely home, and he caught a glimpse of her father in the back of the kitchen, probably preparing dinner.

"Bye, bye, Shi-ch…Shigure," Yukina said at the door, blushing a little bit. Then she realized again that she forgot the honorific! That was the second time today! "Sh..Shigure-san! Shigure-_san!_"

Shigure chuckled, crouching down and patting her head. He felt like a long lost relative or something similar doing this, but he couldn't stop himself. Yukina was just too interesting.

"May we meet again, Yukina-chan."

* * *

_~CGA_


End file.
